What application are you printing from? Most programs use a binary format for printing through LPT1 to add formatting, (bold text, underline, etc). We need to check if the program you are using can output in text format first.

July 2nd, 2000, 12:23 PM

eL_NiNo

Actually it's an old application (about 10 years old, so probably made in cobol ) that contains a database of customers.

This database can be printed in a kind of report to the printer, but it's 300 pages so if i could get it to a file, i could easily create a database...
I'm looking forward for something like this :
"Set printer = c:\text.txt" &lt;- Although I doubt this i spossible...So all dos application would automatically redirect its printer content to text...

Thanx

July 2nd, 2000, 02:23 PM

popol666

if you'r in pure dos you should check in help
i am not sure it is possible but you'l find the answer there(i dont have dos machine near to search)it should be a "mode" comand
if dos application is runing under windows you should be able to do it by the mark said upper

July 2nd, 2000, 09:29 PM

butchsor

Set your printer set-up from LPt1 to "File" and save it as default ( you can also add 2nd same printer with print to file odtion) example. Hp850c connected to lpt1 and copy of HP850c connected to file.

When you send any prog docs/graphic/lay-out files, it will ask you a file name. Type any filename you want with an extension of prn.
example: butch.prn

Well actually, changing from lpt to FILE is great...but it saves data in binary format, what i would like to be able to do is actually save the text content of what should be printed on sheets if it was not saved to file...

Is there a way to do it, so i could get a good ol' test.txt with text in this file...?

It's an old DOS application not a particular file...So everything is create within the application itself and preinted on the printer (This is an enterprise prog)...
So i don't know about capturing with adobre acrobat since it's dos...

how do you run the program ? i remember being able to redirect the output of dos commands to a file:

example:

dir c:\ /s &gt; dirlist.txt

which will send the dir output to the file instead of the display...

July 4th, 2000, 10:19 PM

Tojij

Question: When you print it, does it have any formatting on it (Bold text, Underlines, graphics)? If there are, and the program does not give you any other way to give an output, then your out of luck http://discussions.hardwarecentral.com/frown.gif

By the way, could you run it on a DOS window? If you could, could you post a screenshot (press ALT-PRTSCR and save as a file in Photo Editor)? Maybe somebody would recognize it and give suggestions..